At an airbase exterior Tokyo, engineers examine the ageing F-2 fighters which have patrolled the Japanese skies for many years.
However with China’s latest stealth jets roaming ever nearer, and the promised way forward for air defence nonetheless years away, Japan is rising stressed.
Its partnership with Britain and Italy to construct a next-generation fighter has hit turbulence – and Tokyo might now not be prepared to attend.
The sixth-generation fighter, a part of the International Fight Air Programme (GCAP), is slated to enter service with all three nations by 2035. However growth is reportedly lagging, with the primary demonstrator flight now delayed till 2027 – a setback that has alarmed Japanese officers and defence analysts.
In contrast to the UK and Italy, which may proceed to depend on the Eurofighter Hurricane properly into the 2040s, Japan faces a much more fast must modernise its fleet, in accordance with specialists.
